To quote Keanu Reeves, “I love movies.” While he has the joy of making them and watching them, I love them for their transportive abilities. They can move you through time to see a version of what has been, expel… Read More ›
In Theaters
Writer/director Ben Hozie’s “PVT Chat” demonstrates admirable skill, creativity, and resourcefulness despite other shortcomings.
From writer and director Ben Hozie, PVT Chat is a story of urban loneliness and isolation along with lust and obsession. Peter Vack acts in the role of Jack, an online gambler who feels internally empty and without any clear… Read More ›
Sorry, Studio Ghibli fans, “Earwig and the Witch” is terribly off key.
Studio Ghibli’s Earwig and the Witch marks their 22nd feature film and their first 3D animated feature. Adapted from the 2011 novel by Diana Wynne Jones (the second film of theirs adapted from her books, the first being Howl’s Moving… Read More ›
Outside of a few unfortunate parallels to current events, “Rams” is a quaint comedy/drama with a delightful cast.
Director Jeremy Sims brings together the talents of Sam Neill, Michael Caton, and Miranda Richardson in Rams, his English-language remake of the 2015 Icelandic film, Hrútar. Rams centers around feuding brothers Colin and Les Grimurson (Neill and Caton, respectively), who… Read More ›
Saban Films’s “Wrong Turn” is a thrilling and absolutely gnarly horror film.
Believe it or not, not including this reboot, there are six entries in the Wrong Turn series of films. Predictably, aside from its initial 2003 original, every film in the series was a casualty of the late-2000s boom of direct-to-DVD… Read More ›
Psychological thriller “The Night” masters the familiar haunted hotel setting with technical excellence.
Kourosh Ahari’s psychological thriller, The Night, is a stellar example of a film that may not have the next best original ideas within its genre, but is so well done that it is nonetheless entertaining and worthwhile. Despite a handful… Read More ›
Beautiful, painful, hilarious, & uncomfortable, Sam Levinson’s “Malcolm & Marie” is a declarative statement of artistic talent.
It’s 1 a.m. and Malcolm (John David Washington) and Marie (Zendaya) return home from the premiere of Malcom’s film, a film which left the audience in tears and the critics raving. This should be a time of celebration for the… Read More ›
The “PG” in Steven Kostanski’s horror comedy “PG: Psycho Goreman” stands for “plenty-o-gore.
According to the production notes accompanying my screener, writer/director Steven Kostanski (The Void) grew up wondering what it would be like to hang out with the iconic villains of his youth: Skeletor, Megatron, Cobra Commander, etc. As an adult, his… Read More ›
A true story, “The Mauritanian” presents the moral failings of a country who mistakes vengeance for justice.
… We think of justice as a quality that may exist in a whole community as well as in an individual, and the community is the bigger of the two. Possibly, then, we may find justice there in larger proportions,… Read More ›
If “‘Wolfenstein’ in the Pacific Theater” meets “Overlord” sounds enticing, check out director Roseanne Liang’s “Shadow in the Cloud.”
It’s a tough conversation, but one that needs to be addressed head-on before jumping into actually talking about the film itself. Shadow in the Cloud, despite its best efforts, is written by Max Landis. Landis, the son of veteran filmmaker… Read More ›
Packed inside the superhero excess of “Wonder Woman 1984” is a compelling story of greed versus virtue.
As a follow-up to 2017’s Wonder Woman, director Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman 1984 is undeniably ambitious. It seeks to expand the mythos of Themyscria, the home of the Amazons; continue the story of Diana Prince as a continuation of her… Read More ›
Beautiful and intimate, yet cold and distant, “The Midnight Sky” lacks the cohesion to make it wondrous.
When it comes to George Clooney films, there’s a little something for everyone. You like him endearing and silly, Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988). You like him sexy and deadly, From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Or perhaps more maudlin… Read More ›
Psychological thriller “Archenemy” explores man’s superhero obsession, asking who is the real enemy of our heroes.
Writer/director Adam Egypt Mortimer is developing a very specific artistic aesthetic after only three full length features. The first, Another Kind of Hate (2015), appears to explore bullying with a supernatural bend. The second, Daniel Isn’t Real (2019), is an… Read More ›
For a period romance, “Ammonite” is too cold to generate heat.
Queer period romance films have had a bit of a kick as of late, and I have been very grateful for them thus far. Colette, The Handmaiden, Carol, The Favourite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, among others, have… Read More ›
Documentary “Dear Santa” showcases the magic of the season and the people who keep it alive for others.
From the director of Batkid Begins (2015) and Pick of the Litter (2018) comes a joyous and heartfelt exploration of Operation Santa, an initiative within the U.S. Postal Service that works to answer letters of children and adults sent to… Read More ›
Quick Take Review: “The Climb.”
On this Quick Take episode, Noel T. Manning II reviews the Sony Pictures Classic buddy dramady, The Climb. It’s been said that relationships are messy, and in this film, that is an understatement. The Climb, opened in select theaters November… Read More ›
Quick Take Review: “Mank.”
Director David Fincher brings to life a script originally written by his father, Jack. Mank explores the Oscar-winning writer of Citizen Kane, Herman Jacob Mankiewicz. In this Netflix film, we examine the vices, self-destructive behavior and uncanny ability of this alcoholic… Read More ›
Quick Take: Reviewing “The Last Vermeer.”
If you’re interested in a World War II period mystery, thriller, courtroom drama with a bit of art history, you may want to check out this Quick Take movie review of the Tri-Star pictures flick The Last Vermeer. This based-on… Read More ›
Jackie Chan’s “Vanguard” offers the comedic martial arts spectacle you expect.
The simplest way to describe writer/director Stanley Tong’s (Rumble in the Bronx) latest film Vanguard is a mixture of the Fast & Furious, Mission: Impossible, and The Expendables series of films. You don’t even have to squint to see it… Read More ›
“Chick Fight” is the female version of “Fight Club” that we never thought would happen.
It’s always great when a comedy tries to innovate itself. Sometimes you get an action comedy (The Rundown, Rush Hour, or Bad Boys) where, it definitely has heart, but it expands the potential of what a comedy has by displaying… Read More ›